As a Reiki Nurse, I have an awesome opportunity. I get to share Reiki with both patients and staff. In a recent blog post, I shared a story of offering Reiki to a patient in the hospital and the outcome of the practice (you can read more about that here). Today I write to another aspect where Reiki and nursing come together.

Reiki for nurses.

Reiki, as a spiritual healing practice that invites balance and promotes well-being, is an easy, convenient and simple tool for nursing self-care. Reiki Practice does not require a lot of time; it is free to use; and it can be a wonderful modality for self-healing and empowerment.

Today’s nursing leadership struggles to find the time, energy and resources to create strong and sustainable resiliency programs for nurses. While nursing practice can lead to burnout, compassion fatigue and secondary trauma syndrome- we still are challenged with finding a self-care tool for nurses that will stick.

Programs come and go. Resources are lost and budgets are tight. What works for one person may not be enjoyable for the entire group. There is a fragmentation of efforts and in the end, self-care seems to get bumped from every meeting agenda.

Reiki Practice is a great tool which can overcome most, if not all, of these obstacles:

• Reiki is unique to each individual. Once a nurse learns the practice, the more that they use and practice it on themselves, the more they come to understand Reiki Practice and what it means to them. Therefore, this notion of Reiki not being ‘for everyone’ may or may not be true. Each individual who is open to trying and at least coming to understand Reiki for themselves can be the judge of that.
• Reiki, once learned, is free and easy to use. Since it is a tool that is practiced on the self, each nurse can apply Reiki healing wherever and whenever they need or want it. It could be done as little as five minutes during a day or for a more extended period of time. No fancy materials, structures or settings are needed to practice self-Reiki.
• Reiki is sustainable. Once trained, the ability to offer Reiki to oneself never goes away. Even if a nurse gets busy and is unable to practice for sometime, Reiki will always be available to them once they return to practice. Reiki is also something that can be shared between staff members and between Reiki practitioners, making it a method that can continue on well beyond one workshop or presentation.

Being a Reiki Master Teacher, I enjoy sharing, teaching and training nurses in Reiki Practice. If you would like more information on Reiki programs for organizations and nursing groups, check out my Reiki page. I would love to discuss bringing Reiki to your nursing group.

How about you? Do you practice Reiki or know any nurses that do? What healing benefits have you received from Reiki Practice? What other advantages do you see blending Reiki and nursing together?